by Jeff Lockridge, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Lockridge, USA TODAY Sports

Vanderbilt got close enough to feel the sting of nearly knocking off No. 1.Senior guard Kyle Fuller's loud voice produced only soft words. Senior forward Rod Odom shielded his eyes with a hand across his brow.

"Frustration? Yes. Disappointment? Yes," Commodores junior guard Dai-Jon Parker said after Florida's 57-54 win on Tuesday night. "It wasn't really the last shot that could have put us over. It was multiple mistakes we made during the game."

The Gators got 19 points from reserve forward Dorian Finney-Smith and narrowly avoided the Memorial Gym pitfall that has repeatedly tripped up No. 1 teams through the years, including the Gators in 2007.

Patric Young added 12 points to help Florida (26-2, 15-0) stay perfect in SEC play one day after receiving college basketball's top ranking in the Associated Press poll. It didn't come easy. But then these shorthanded Commodores haven't made things easy on anyone this season.

Vanderbilt trailed 45-33 with 13:51 to play but chipped away at the deficit until giving itself a chance to tie in the closing seconds. After Florida's Scottie Wilbekin missed the front end of a one-and-one and a chance to seal the outcome, the Commodores called timeout with 6.6 seconds left trailing by three.

Fuller, who scored Vanderbilt's last seven points, got a semi-open look at a 3-pointer from the top of the key but was long. When Parker missed an eight-footer after corralling the rebound, time expired and the Gators breathed a sigh of relief.

"Coach (Kevin Stallings) drew up a play for Luke (Kornet) to get a flare screen and he got it but Patric (Young) was kind of on him, so I created enough space between me and Patric," Fuller said. "When it left my hand, it just didn't feel right."

Odom scored 12 points and Parker had 11 for the Commodores (15-12, 7-8) in a game that Florida led for the final 32 minutes after taking a 13-11 advantage.

Kornet hit a pair of 3s to spark Vanderbilt's comeback and Fuller went coast-to-coast for a three-point play to make it 53-50 with 3:10 remaining. Fuller's two free throws with one minute left made it 54-52.

But Finney-Smith, who had scored in double figures just once in Florida's previous 11 games, answered with a pivotal 3 for the Gators. Fuller countered with a layup, setting up the final sequence.

"The game came down to one or two possessions and (Florida was) able to make the plays they needed to make," Stallings said. "We're disappointed. It was a game we thought we could win."

Vanderbilt slipped to 8-17 all-time against No. 1 teams and 6-8 at Memorial Gym, where football coach Derek Mason showed up to greet a rowdy student section and former wide receiver Jordan Matthews was on hand to watch the game after his impressive showing at the NFL Combine.

The Commodores shot 48.4 percent from the field compared to Florida's 40.4, but Vanderbilt committed 16 turnovers and gave up 13 offensive rebounds to the Gators.

"I think maybe more gets made of the team that's ranked No. 1 and there's not enough credit or emphasis placed on the opponent getting totally jacked up to play," Florida coach Billy Donovan said.

"We've had four of our last five games on the road ‚?¶ it's been a five-game run for our basketball team where you're getting everybody's best shot, and then emotionally you're trying to get yourself up to play at that level.

The crowd was 11,132 - about 3,200 shy of a sellout.

Florida's press and some careless Vanderbilt passes led to a flurry of turnovers, spurring a 13-0 Gators' run that was capped by Michael Frazier's consecutive 3s for a 22-11 cushion. Vanderbilt gave the ball away 10 times in just over 11 minutes and finished the first half with 11 turnovers.